French driver Sebastien Loeb bounced back the day after a series of punctures to grab his first win of this year’s Dakar Rally, edging Saudi race leader Yazeed Al-Rajhi in Tuesday’s fourth stage.
The Prodrive competitor — a former nine-time world rally champion — finished 1min 08sec ahead of Toyota’s Al-Rajhi after 631km of rolling terrain without major difficulty including a 299km special between Al-Salamiya and Al-Hofuf in Saudi Arabia.
Loeb had suffered three punctures on Monday, but his first success in this year’s race moves him up to sixth overall, 23min 50sec behind Al-Rahji.
“It was important to get back into it. Especially since we are going to arrive at big stages. We should not be left behind,” said Loeb.
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